Estes Park Trail-Gazette News

Alternatives to "North Colorado" secession touted before Tuesday vote

Galvanizing business and local concerns into one massive public interest group like the Western Slope's Club 20 is emerging as a third option for those vying to give rural northern counties more political heft.

"Over the last few months, there has been a lot more discussion about putting our collective power into a similar model like Club 20," said Weld County Commissioner Sean Conway. "There is certainly a great deal of interest in the business community in this idea."

Club 20's roots sprang from the same frustrations of current north Colorado residents who feel they have been ignored by the Denver-centric state legislature. Club 20 now helps represent the concerns of Western Slope counties, communities, tribes and businesses on issues such as energy development, public lands, tourism and telecommunications.

"They are one of the most influential voices on public policy in the state of Colorado," Conway said.

But before Club 20 can be transplanted to northeast Colorado, residents there will first weigh whether secession is in order.

Voters in 11 counties on Tuesday will say whether they want their county commissioners to proceed with plans to break away from Colorado. This proposal has attracted fiery rhetoric by those who see Denver and parts of the Front Range as a foreign land with which they share little in common.

That includes gun-control laws, civil unions for same-sex couples and new renewable-energy standards seen as too costly for farmers and ranchers.

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"People out here see themselves as a disenfranchised minority in Colorado," said Phillips County Administrator Randy Schafer. "They see urban values running roughshod over their own values."

But secession has detractors — including U.S. Senate candidate and Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck, who recently said the best way to boost representation in state government is to elect stronger leaders.

Critics also say the U.S. Congress will never allow the creation of a 51st state, if the idea even goes that far.

The second option is reconfiguring the Colorado legislature to put rural lawmakers on more even ground with their urban counterparts. The Phillips Plan, for instance, would have representatives elected by county, rather by population.

Another plan would focus on the state Senate and make representation much like in the U.S. Congress.

But detractors say both plans run afoul of constitutional law, which says that all districts in any state legislature must be equal in population.

Conway supports Tuesday's secession vote but also sees merit in the Phillips Plan. He says he backs any effort that helps the rural northeast gain a bigger voice.

"Now that we have a dialogue going and we recognize problems, I think there will be a whole host of suggestions that will come forward," Conway said.

Action 22 — which represents southern Colorado — and Progressive 15 — which advocates for northeast Colorado — could be merged to create a Club 20-style group, Conway said.

Club 20 began in 1953 to get more highway funding to the Western Slope. Prior to that, communities were fighting against each other to get a meager piece of the funding pie, said Steven Reynolds, Club 20 chairman.

"These towns were scrambling over each other to get money when it finally came down to is, why don't we all band together (and) get one comprehensive funding bill that makes sense for us and makes sense for the Front Range?" Reynolds said.

With that, Club 20 began presenting itself as a unified voice for what is now 22 counties west of the Continental Divide.

It is regularly courted by state and federal officials and takes stances after issues are carefully analyzed by committee.

"We don't take a position on anything we don't have a policy on," Reynolds said.

The group recently came out against Amendment 66, the education funding measure. But it stays away from more divisive measures, including recent gun- control bills.

"We took it to the executive committee, and we decided we just don't want to go there," he said. "It is such a political issue we didn't want to get in the middle of."

Others say an advocacy group like Club 20 doesn't address the key problem that angers secession backers — the lack of a political voice.

"Those groups are all necessary and have been moderately effective," said Jeffrey Hare, co-founder of the 51st State Initiative. "However, the disproportionate growth in the urban areas will continue to drown out the voice of rural Colorado."

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